The Witch Born to Burn

by Tanya Milne

  He started the engine and sat down opposite me.

  ‘Please, please stay safe,’ he said, wiping the tears from my face.

  ‘You too,’ I managed to croak out.

  With one last look he dived into the ocean, then treaded water next to the boat. I clicked the boat into gear and as I started to speed away, I heard Jet yell, ‘I’ll miss you.’

  ‘I’ll miss you too,’ I whispered to the wind, before letting out the cry I’d held onto for so many days.

  It was a cry from the depths of my soul. It spoke of despair, hate, love, jealousy, betrayal, intimidation and fear. I’d been pushed, pulled, drowned and smashed, and as I made my way across the ocean under the light of the rising moon, I let the world know exactly how I felt.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Every movement of the waves sent pain ricocheting through my arm, making me cry out. Several times the pain could no longer be held in my body, and I leant over the side of the boat and was sick.

  By the time I neared the mainland, it was dark and with a rising panic, I realised that I couldn’t see Bluff Point. The only thing I could see was Orpheus’s house, which abutted the bay, river and ocean, lit up like a department store at night. Inside was a man who loved his son and wife, a man who had welcomed me into his family, a man who would have taken the life of an innocent young man today if he could have.

  Tears filled my eyes and I slowed the boat and started to cry, the salt stinging the left-hand side of my face, which was swollen and bloody. The ocean tossed me around and I felt the little boat drifting backwards, being drawn out into the sea. If the dark spirits came for me in that moment, I’d be powerless. I had nothing, absolutely nothing, left to fight them, to fight anyone.

  I dropped my head, which spun as I tried to hold onto consciousness. I’d reached the end of my road and I waited, waited to be claimed.

  ‘Never drop your head,’ came the voice of my mother. I snapped my head up and around, but at first glance there was nothing but the large moon, which looked suspended in the air by invisible threads. I glanced inside the boat, and there was a long black tentacle, sliding towards me.

  I had nothing left, but I raised my head to the moon and let its power wash over me. I raised my good arm in front of me, and the energy from the moon entered me and a flame emerged from my hand and struck the creature, which slid back into the dark waters.

  Something inside me had woken and I searched the headland, shrouded in darkness.

  ‘Please, help me,’ I cried out.

  And from the headland came a light flashing, over and over again.

  I heard a guttural groan, and it took me a moment to realise it had come from me.

  ‘Come home,’ came the voice of my mother as though she were sitting beside me.

  I steered the boat directly towards the light that continued to flash, turned the engine to full throttle and sat back as the boat lurched towards the light.

  Slowly, the headland gained form and there, standing in the darkness where I’d left him, with his torch flashing, was Ezra. I slowed the boat down as my vision disappeared. I tried desperately to hold onto consciousness, which was coming and going like the beam of the torch.

  As the boat hit the shore, I heard Ezra calling my name, but it was distant. The darkness had arrived and was taking my pain away with it.

  ‘Eva, Eva, what happened?’ Ezra called, momentarily bringing me back into the world of pain.

  My words would not form, but there was no mistaking Ezra cursing Jet’s name and I wanted to tell him to stop, but nothing would come.

  ‘Hold on, my darling,’ said Ezra as he lifted me into his arms, my arm twisting, making me scream.

  ‘What the hell?’ he yelled as he adjusted my arm and started walking.

  ‘Broken arm,’ I managed to slur out.

  ‘What happened, Eva? Tell me.’

  ‘He’s okay,’ I said between tears that I couldn’t seem to control.

  ‘I don’t care about him. What happened to you?’

  All I could picture was the waves and that split second when the boat was vertical in the air.

  ‘Christ,’ said Ezra as I went in and out of consciousness. Walking beside me, his golden eyes fixed on me, was Boy.

  Ezra carefully placed me in his car, and I tried harder to hold onto my screams.

  ‘It’s going to be okay,’ said Ezra, unable to keep the tremor from his voice. And then he was beside me, the light shining in my eyes.

  He gasped and cursed as he took in the state of me. Then, on the phone through the car was my mum, whose voice quickly grew alarmed as Ezra described my condition.

  ‘Bring her home,’ said Mum.

  ‘She needs the hospital,’ said Ezra.

  ‘Too many questions. We can take care of her,’ said Mum, who started issuing instructions to Dad and Elijah.

  ‘I think she’s broken her arm, and she’s hit her head. She’s in and out of consciousness.’

  There was a long silence on the other end of the line and in the background, I listened to Elijah asking questions.

  ‘Bring her home,’ said Mum in her don’t-argue-with-me voice.

  ‘On our way.’

  The line went dead and Ezra spoke quietly. ‘Hang in there, darling.’

  Within seconds we were flying down the road. As we passed Ezra’s house, a siren and flashing lights appeared behind us.

  ‘What the hell?’ said Ezra, scanning the rear-vision mirror. ‘Eva, don’t say a word and stay awake, okay?’

  Pain seared through me and I gulped down air, trying to stop myself from being sick. Ezra rolled down the window as a police officer approached.

  ‘What seems to be–’

  ‘The problem,’ said Max, his voice sending terror into my heart.

  ‘What do you want?’ said Ezra.

  ‘Hello to you,’ said Max, shining his torch into the car, on the good side of my face. ‘Well, well, well – look who we have here. Lovely Miss Eva.’

  ‘Shut your mouth,’ said Ezra.

  ‘Excuse me,’ said Max, his voice as sharp as the point of a knife.

  ‘You heard me, arsehole,’ said Ezra.

  ‘Step out of the car, both of you,’ said Max.

  ‘Not a chance. Get out of the way, or I’ll report you.’

  Max started to laugh. ‘Just because you’re Orpheus’s son doesn’t give you and your lovely girlfriend full immunity.’

  ‘Last time I checked, you were in jail for attempted murder.’

  ‘Oh, that. There was a misunderstanding, that’s all. A mistake, it can happen to anyone. But insubordination to a police officer, now that’s an offence.’

  ‘Bullshit,’ said Ezra.

  ‘Get out of the car, or I’ll arrest you both.’

  Ezra cursed under his breath as he slid the internal light off and got out of the car.

  ‘Good decision,’ said Max, who immediately spun Ezra around so that he faced the car, his hands behind his back.

  ‘Get your hands off me,’ screamed Ezra. ‘Or so help you.’

  ‘Oh, I do like a struggle, don’t I, Eva?’

  Ezra cried out as he struggled against Max. I wanted to move, to help Ezra, but I started to dry retch.

  ‘Stay where you are,’ said Ezra, in between gritted teeth.

  ‘Yes, that will make it easier for me,’ said Max, laughing again.

  ‘If you even lay one finger on her, I will hunt you down for the rest of your days,’ yelled Ezra.

  ‘Is that so? I like the sound of that,’ said Max. ‘Now, where have you two been all afternoon, the same afternoon that Jet goes missing?’

  ‘None of your goddamned business,’ said Ezra.

  ‘It’s funny, you know, just moments before Jet vanished, I could have sworn I saw young Eva.’

  No! No! No!

  I remembered the moment when I stepped out from the street and threw fireballs at the tyres of the police car.

  ‘So, your intimidation of
Eva continues,’ said Ezra. ‘Dad will be very interested in how you’re treating not only his son, but also his son’s girlfriend, who he happens to like.’

  ‘I bet he does, poor bastard, just like the rest of us,’ said Max, shining the light into the car and letting it linger on my oversized clothes. ‘Bet he hasn’t had the pleasure of seeing her in all her glory, or maybe he has.’

  ‘SHUT UP,’ yelled Ezra, struggling against Max’s hold.

  ‘Cat got your tongue in there?’ said Max, leaning into the window.

  More than anything in the world, I wanted my powers – I wanted to set him on fire once and for all. But I had nothing, nothing at all. I kept my face straight ahead.

  ‘I won’t ask you again,’ said Max, turning back to Ezra. ‘Where were you both this afternoon?’

  ‘Where do you think?’ said Ezra, spitting out his words.

  ‘Okay, so I’ll assume you mean you were together, in the woods.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Ezra.

  ‘What were you doing that would have Eva so damned quiet?’ Max said again, shining his torch on my face, blinding me.

  ‘None of your business,’ said Ezra, straining against Max.

  ‘Oh, I think it is. What would a handsome boy and such a pretty girl be doing out in the woods for hours and hours on end? The mind boggles.’

  ‘I said, it’s none of your business.’

  ‘If you don’t tell me, I’ll be forced to put you in cuffs and turn my attention to your girlfriend.’

  ‘What do you think we were doing?’ said Ezra, his voice coarse.

  ‘I think you were having your way with your girl. Am I right or am I right?’

  I heard Max get something out from his pockets, and I turned in time to see the silver glisten of handcuffs.

  ‘He’s got handcuffs,’ I said.

  The next thing I knew there was a commotion as Boy launched himself onto Max, then pinned him to the ground and growled in his face, making Max scream.

  For a few moments, Ezra stayed where he was.

  Then he clapped his hands and pretended to scare Boy away into the woods. In one movement, Ezra placed Max on his feet before landing a punch that knocked him to the ground. Ezra picked up Max and dangled him in the air.

  ‘If you ever even talk about my girlfriend again, I’m coming for you and you won’t know until it’s too late. This is your last chance.’ Ezra threw Max onto the ground. Within seconds, Max scrambled to his feet and got out his gun.

  I screamed, and I heard Ezra shout before he started running at Max.

  The sound of gunfire filled the air.

  Ezra screamed out like he’d been shot – and heat exploded inside me, then seeped slowly through me like blood across the ground, drowning me, pulling me down, down, down into the darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Time became a suspended thing, and I no longer moved to its beat. I hovered just outside myself in a space where there was no time, only the murmur of voices and the movement of shapes and an occasional touch that brought me closer.

  Sometimes I would move further away and could feel the suction of my spirit from my body as it peeled away. At other times, I’d get so close to my body I’d feel the texture of my skin.

  I stayed in this place while the sun rose and set, rose and set until I lost track of even that. I was no longer human, not free, not trapped, only a spirit in waiting.

  ‘Eva,’ called a voice that pulled me closer so that I hovered just above my body, which I barely recognised. My arm was in a cast and one side of my face was black and blue, just like my lips. My eyes were shut and the other side of my face was the same shade of white as my pillowcase. I was small, shrunken and fragile as a baby bird.

  A memory reformed and I heard the bullet, the bullet that Ezra must have ran straight into, that pierced his heart, taking mine with him. I was about to turn away and retreat into the world where there was no pain when I heard a sob.

  ‘Come back to me,’ he begged.

  ‘Ezra,’ I said, watching my body stir as I took in Ezra, who was sitting next to me, his head in his hands as he cried.

  ‘Please, Eva, come back to me. I love you… I’ll never stop loving you.’

  Ezra’s alive!

  ‘Ezra,’ I croaked, opening my eyes to see Ezra look up with a swollen, red raw gaze. He jumped up in a flash as tears continued streaming down his face. I tried to wipe them away, but I couldn’t find the energy to move.

  ‘Christian! Angie!’ Ezra yelled, making me jump.

  ‘Don’t try and move,’ he said. ‘I don’t know if you remember, but you’ve been in some kind of accident, and then you were shot in the shoulder.’

  WHAT! And then I remembered, the pain of a bullet as it entered my shoulder.

  ‘Stay with me, Eva,’ he said, gently touching my face. ‘You’re in hospital now and you’re safe. Your family…haven’t left your side. They’re coming in now.’

  I glanced up to see Mum and Dad run into the room, their faces lighting up before they burst into tears. In behind them walked Elijah, his face unrecognisable as he smiled at me through his tears.

  ‘The lengths you’ll go for some attention,’ he said, making everyone laugh. Pain immediately ricocheted through my body, and I cried out.

  ‘It’s okay,’ said Ezra, smoothing my hair back. ‘You’re going to be okay.’

  ‘Boy?’ I managed to rasp, my eyes flooding with tears as I imagined where the other bullets landed.

  ‘Boy got away,’ said Ezra, his face paling as he remembered back to what had happened after I passed out.

  ‘Max,’ I croaked, his name alone making me feel sick.

  The alarm next to my bed started, and I heard footsteps in the hall.

  ‘In jail for attempted murder. This time, there’s no plan to release him.’

  ‘Jet?’ I asked.

  Every feature on Ezra’s face became set, and he clamped his mouth shut before he was shuffled off my bed as a flurry of nurses and doctors started asking me questions, moving me and adjusting the many tubes that were attached to me.

  Every movement, every question brought more pain. I closed my eyes and thought back to the last time I saw Jet as he treaded water beside me, telling me that he would miss me. Question after question swam in my mind. How long had he been alone? Had someone in my family been back for him? Was he okay?

  I opened my eyes and there, arms folded across his chest, was Ezra. The only thing I knew in that moment from the loathing in his eyes was that he would not be answering any of my questions about Jet.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  By the time I was allowed out of the house, the last of the leaves had been stripped from the trees and the wind carried a bitterness that took my breath away.

  Ezra held my good hand tightly, the other still getting its strength back after being in a cast, as we walked slowly out of my house and down the front stairs. I remembered back to the day we had arrived in Melas, when there was a sweetness in the air and a spring in my step. I pictured Elijah and myself racing each other into the house, but it felt as though it had happened a lifetime ago to other people.

  ‘Careful now,’ he said, helping me into the car.

  ‘I’m not an old lady,’ I snapped, not for the first time in the last month I’d been recovering.

  He laughed, the same way he always did, and quickly got into the car beside me, smiling so brightly it was like looking into the sun. My heart did a little leap, something that hadn’t happened for as long as I could remember.

  ‘So, where to? I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,’ he said.

  ‘Anywhere?’

  ‘Anywhere within the radius of Melas.’

  ‘In that case, I want fish and chips in your little boat, and you – all to myself for the whole afternoon and into the night.’

  ‘Done,’ he said, a small smile on his lips as he turned the car into the street.

  Before long, we were sitting at his little tabl
e inside his boat, snug and protected from the wind that was blowing a gale outside. I’d seen Ezra every single day since I’d woken from the coma, but I’d never had him on my own long enough for a proper conversation.

  But now, in between mouthfuls, we caught up on the news of the town, which had returned to its new kind of crazy normal several days after Jet escaped. When we were finished eating, I peeked over at the bed, and memories of the last time we were here and what nearly happened…and the promise we’d made on the night I was shot, rushed back to me. A dormant part of me came alive.

  ‘Shall we lie out?’ I suggested, my breath becoming tight.

  ‘I’m not sure that would be a good idea, are you?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’m injured, but not an invalid,’ I said, lowering my head and pouting.

  Ezra shuffled closer and gently put his finger on my lips, his eyes hungry before he leant in and kissed me softly for a moment before he exploded with passion and pulled me close so that our bodies were joined.

  ‘Your arm,’ he said, breaking away.

  ‘Is getting better. If we’re careful…’

  ‘Do you mean it?’ he said.

  With my good hand, I took his hand and put it on my shirt buttons, heat igniting inside me.

  Slowly, his eyes not leaving mine, he undid my buttons until my shirt fell open. His gaze crept down as he reached up and lightly traced the line of my breast.

  I moaned and closed my eyes as he explored part of me that I’d never given to anyone.

  ‘Eva,’ he said, dropping his hand.

  ‘What?’ I said, trying to find his hand.

  ‘Open your eyes.’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Please, I need to ask you something before…anything else happens.’

  ‘What?’ I said, pulling my shirt back around myself.

  ‘I need to ask you what happened when you dropped Jet off.’

  ‘I told you,’ I said, my skin breaking out in goosebumps.

  ‘You told me the basics, but since we’re never alone, you haven’t told me everything.’

  ‘I don’t have anything to say. My family are looking after him. I haven’t seen him for ages and probably won’t for a long time, so there’s nothing more to say. Please, let’s not talk anymore.’ I placed my hand on Ezra’s blue jumper and ran my fingers slowly over his broad chest.